.ASIA FAQs are divided into two parts, and put together to give you better understanding of the DotAsia Organisation; as well as registering, selling, and technologies associated with the .ASIA top-level-domain.

If you do not find answers to the question(s) you are looking for in these sections, or if you need further assistance, please write to us. We value and welcome your questions and comments.

.ASIA Top-Level Domain FAQ

What is .ASIA?

.ASIA is the regional web address for Asia. You can use a .ASIA domain to expand your business, cater to Asian audience or start a personal blog and make friends across the region. It is the one domain that gives you instant access to the most dynamic region in the world. .ASIA is open to all businesses, individuals and organizations with connections to the Asia Pacific region.

“A sponsored TLD is a specialized TLD that has a sponsor representing a specific community that is served by the TLD. The sponsor thus carries out delegated policy-formulation responsibilities over many matters concerning the TLD…”

.ASIA is a Sponsored gTLD. The boundaries of the .ASIA community are clearly defined based on the ICANN Asia / Australia / Pacific region (http://www.icann.org/montreal/geo-regions-topic.htm). We retain certain policy formulation responsibilities specific to the interests of the sponsored community. For example, the .ASIA registry has an expanded list of reserved domain names; explore the feasibility and value of augmenting the UDRP with local DRP forums; eligibility requirements; and other policies and practices that minimize abusive registration activities and other activities that affect the legal rights of others, especially in the community.

What is Afilias?

Afilias is the back-end registry services and technology provider for the .ASIA TLD. Afilias began operations in July 2001 with the launch of the top-level domain registry for .INFO. Today, it is the world’s second largest gTLD registry company, and the leading registry services provider. Afilias currently support 7 gTLDs including .ASIA, .ORG and .MOBI, as well as 10 other ccTLDs.

What is a domain name Registry? What is a Registrar, a Reseller or a Registrant?

A Domain Name Registry is responsible for managing the database of domains registered under a specific Top-Level-Domain (TLD). The DotAsia Organisation is the registry operator for the .ASIA TLD.

A Registrar is an entity accredited by ICANN and / or other Registries to sell domain names directly to customers who register domains – also known as the Registrants. If you own a domain, you are a Registrant.

Resellers resell domain names through directly accredited Registrars.

Where can I get a .ASIA domain?

You can register a .ASIA domain with one of our Accredited Registrars or their resellers.

Do I have to live in Asia to get a .ASIA domain?

No, a regional address is not mandatory when registering a .ASIA domain. However, depending on the range of service provided by your registrar of choice, you may be asked to provide a Charter Eligibility Declaration (CED) contact or a Charter Eligibility Administrative (CEA) Contact.

Either a CED or CEA contact is required when registering a .ASIA domain. For more information please see Q7.

What is a CED or CEA contact?

A .ASIA domain must be associated with a Charter Eligibility Declaration (CED) Contact or a Charter Eligibility Administrative (CEA) Contact. The CED and CEA Contacts are used to satisfy the Charter Eligibility Requirement Policy requirements and help to demonstrate that the .ASIA domain is associated with the Asia Pacific region.

A CED contact is a domain contact that is a legal entity in the DotAsia community. This can be a company, an organization or a natural person.

A CEA contact is an Administrative Contact associated with the Domain that contains a postal address within the Asia Pacific region.

Both CED or CEA contact information is submitted via .ASIA Registrar and is mandatory when registering .ASIA domains.

How much does a .ASIA domain cost?

Cost of a .ASIA domain varies with registrars and the level of service they provide. Connect with a .ASIA registrar and learn about their latest offering for a .ASIA domain today.

Can I register 1 or 2 character .ASIA domains?

Currently, only 3 characters or more .ASIA domains (ie. abc.asia) are available for registrations. In August 2011 DotAsia submitted request to ICANN for the release of 1 and 2 character names such as ‘xy.asia’. This request was approved on Feb 29, 2012. DotAsia is working with our channel partners to release these names. If you’d like to stay updated on the release of these names please write to us.

What is the DotAsia Pioneer Domains Program?

DotAsia Pioneer Domains Program was first launched in 2007, prior to the opening of the .ASIA domains. DotAsia established a new industry benchmark by being the first domain registry ever to open its doors for applications based on the quality of proposals received for any domain name of choice.

From May to July 2011 the Pioneer Program was reopened for Chinese, Japanese and Korean Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) applications. The IDN Pioneers Program was successful garnering community and celebrity interests such as Donnie Yen with ‘http://甄子丹.Asia’, Jackie Chan’s movie ‘http://大兵小将.asia’ and many more.

DotAsia Pioneer Domains program is now closed but will open again for other .ASIA IDN scripts such as Hindi and Thai in the near future. To stay updated on the reopening DotAsia Pioneers Program please contact us.

.ASIA General FAQ for Registrars and Resellers

What are the steps to becoming a .ASIA Accredited Registrar?

Before you can start selling .ASIA domains, you must become accredited by ICANN for .ASIA. For detailed step-by-step process please visit here.

If you are already an ICANN accredited registrar, becoming directly accredited with.ASIA is simple and at no extra cost. Get first-hand access to registry price promos, innovative marketing collaterals and assistance on navigating Asia today.

How can I become a Reseller of.ASIA domains?

You can start reselling.ASIA domains in few clicks. Setting up a reseller account with one of our accredited registrar is often simple and straightforward. Contact a.ASIA accredited registrars, or if you need further assistance please write to us.

If you require assistance in accessing these areas please contact.ASIA Techsupport at techsupport[at]nic.asia.

What are the differences between domains that are “Reserved by DotAsia” and “Community Reserved Names”?

DotAsia reserved names include ICANN Reserved Names defined in the Registry Operator Contract with ICANN such as ICANN and IANA related names, TLD strings; as well as Government Reserved names dedicated to names relevant to governments in the DotAsia Community including government / public institute names and city names.

Community Reserved Names are intended for the development and promotion of usage and adoption of the .ASIA TLD by the Internet community in Asia and around the world. Furthermore, Community Reserved Names are intended to leverage and attract commitment into positive and creative usage, development and marketing of .ASIA domain names. These in turn will help to generate valuable relevant content, utilization and participation from the community in the .ASIA namespace.

Domains reserved as Community Reserved Names are searchable in the public WHOIS with relevant information. Activated names may continue to be marked as a Community Reserved Name along with relevant information of the operator of the domain. The list of Community Reserved names will be updated from time to time by the .ASIA Registry in support of the community development efforts described above.

What is a CED or CEA contact?

A.ASIA domain must be associated with a Charter Eligibility Declaration (CED) Contact or a Charter Eligibility Administrative (CEA) Contact. The CED and CEA Contacts are used to satisfy the Charter Eligibility Requirement Policy requirements and help to demonstrate that the.ASIA domain is associated with the Asia Pacific region.

A CED contact is a domain contact that is a legal entity in the DotAsia community. This can be a company, an organization or a natural person.

A CEA contact is an Administrative Contact associated with the Domain that containing a postal address within the Asia Pacific region.

Both CED or CEA contact information is submitted via.ASIA Registrar and is mandatory when registering.ASIA domains.

Can the Registrar or a third party act as proxy and provide the CED or CEA contact for registrants?

Yes, a CED Contact or a CEA Contact may or may not be the same entity as the Registrant Contact, and may be an agent, such as the Sponsoring Registrar, or related entity satisfying the requirements as laid out in the Charter Eligibility Requirement Policies.

.ASIA Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) FAQ

What are IDNs?

Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) are web addresses represented in local languages such as “亚洲.Asia” or “こんにちわ.アジア”.

What is Punycode?

In short Punycode is the ASCII character conversion of Internationalized Domain Name (IDN). Punycode is an ASCII-Compatible Encoding (ACE) that translates an IDN or a Unicode sequence into a string of ASCII characters (alphanumerics and hyphens). Punycode strings can be easily identified by their first 4 characters, starting “XN–“.

What IDN scripts are available in.ASIA?

.ASIA currently offers IDNs in Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese and Korean scripts with plans to offer other Asian scripts in the near future. To stay updated on the launching of other .ASIA IDN scripts please write to us.

Where can I get most updated information on.ASIA IDN domains?

For more information on.ASIA IDN domains and new script launches please visit www.idn.asia. You can also write to us if you have specific IDN related questions.

What are the benefits of having.ASIA IDN domains?

Asia is continuing its rapid growth as the world’s most populated Internet marketplace. With already over 800 Million users connected and an expectation to expand to more than 2 billion Internet users by 2013. The vast majority of these users will not be navigating the Internet in English. IDN domains will help drive brand identity, search patterns and Internet market behaviors online and offline.

Navigating the Internet in one’s native language will be natural for the hundreds of millions of users coming online from China, Japan, Korea and around Asia. IDN will play an amplifying role in supporting increased search volume and improved search engine ranking results. While most web addresses today are still English alphanumeric, most of the searches are done in local languages. “Asia”, itself, is a highly searched and natural type-in keyword. Together with IDN, the “.ASIA” web extension helps to improve SEO (Search Engine Optimization) organically. The “.ASIA” domain provides improved relevance for websites to users searching from Asia as well as for Asia related information, bringing you closer to customers in Asia.

What are character variants and how does.ASIA handle them?

Character variants in IDN domains occur when two or more native characters share the same meaning or are linguistically deemed equivalent by local authorities. Such as in the case of Simplified and Traditional Chinese scripts.

When registering for Chinese.ASIA IDNs there is no need to register or purchase for both Simplified and Traditional Chinese scripts. Once the Simplified Chinese.ASIA domain name is applied for, the equivalent Traditional Chinese.ASIA variant will be given / included as part of the package, and vice versa.

The WHOIS indicated the.ASIA domain is Reserved. What are the differences between domains that are “Reserved by DotAsia” and “Community Reserved Names”?

DotAsia reserved names include ICANN Reserved Names defined in the Registry Operator Contract with ICANN such as ICANN and IANA related names, TLD strings; as well as Government Reserved names dedicated to names relevant to governments in the DotAsia Community including government / public institute names and city names.

Community Reserved Names are intended for the development and promotion of usage and adoption of the .ASIA TLD by the Internet community in Asia and around the world. Furthermore, Community Reserved Names are intended to leverage and attract commitment into positive and creative usage, development and marketing of .ASIA domain names. These in turn will help to generate valuable relevant content, utilization and participation from the community in the .ASIA namespace.

Domains reserved as Community Reserved Names are searchable in the public WHOIS with relevant information. Activated names may continue to be marked as a Community Reserved Name along with relevant information of the operator of the domain. The list of Community Reserved names will be updated from time to time by the .ASIA Registry in support of the community development efforts described above.

DotAsia Organisation

What is the DotAsia Organisation (DotAsia)?

DotAsia is a not-for-profit membership-based organisation incorporated in Hong Kong. DotAsia is the Registry Operator and the Sponsoring Organisation for the .ASIA Top Level Domain Registry.

What is the Vision & Mission of DotAsia?

The vision of DotAsia is to create a globally visible Top-Level-Domain that embodies the successful, cooperative atmosphere established within the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific Internet community to accelerate the overall growth of the region.

The mission of DotAsia is:

To sponsor, establish and operate a regional Internet namespace with global recognition and regional significance, dedicated to the needs of the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific Internet community.

To reinvest surpluses in socio-technological advancement initiatives relevant to the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific Internet community; and

To operate a viable not-for-profit initiative that is a technically advanced, world-class TLD registry for the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific community.

In what ways has DotAsia Organisation contributed to the Internet community in Asia

As part of the mission, an important philosophy of DotAsia is to be able to reinvest back into the social and technological advancement initiatives within the community. Based on the revenue allocation structure of DotAsia, a guaranteed portion of revenues will be directly re-invested into the community. So that every “.ASIA” domain registered contributes to community programs such as educating and nurturing young Asian Netizens (www.netmission.asia); sending laptops to children in rural villages (www.olpc.asia), disaster relief (www.relief.asia), R&D grant funds (www.isif.asia), open source software (www.oss.asia) and many more.

What is NetMission.Asia?

The NetMission Ambassadors Progarm(www.NetMission.asia) aims to bring together a network of dedicated young volunteers devoted towards promoting and contributing to digital inclusion, Internet governance as well as a respectable and harmonious Internet environment. The program recruits and selects a group of young NetMission Ambassadors every year, who will take part in a comprehensive training program including seminars, workshops, site visits and exchange programs , as well as to participate in related national and international events in Asia and around the world. Please visit NetMission.Asia to learn more about this unique program.

What is Relief.Asia?

Relief.Asia was deployed as a tool and platform to drive awareness and community contribution towards the rebuilding of nature-savaged regions such as Myanmar and Sichuan through the application of Information Technology. In the wake of the disasters, Relief.Asia continues to coordinate efforts from the Internet community around Asia and have deployed a web-based disaster management tool for relief efforts in Myanmar and Sichuan, and is in the process of deploying an emergency mobile network infrastructure for the hard hit areas which will assist in relief efforts.

Does DotAsia have endorsement from governments?

DotAsia is a community-based bottom-up initiative, with a membership-based not-for-profit organisation structure. Therefore, it is realised that it is inappropriate to solicit direct “endorsements” from governments because it is a private sector initiative. The governance structure of DotAsia Organisation represents a knowledgeable base, including participation from ccTLDs and regional organisations, that is experienced with the management of public resources (e.g. domain names, IP address blocks, etc.) while balancing the interests of public authorities and the community at large.

Nevertheless, and further to the indirect support through participation of ccTLDs, the organisation believes in the importance of a channel of communication with respective governments, because in fact, they form an important part of the community as well. DotAsia has had continued communications with a number of governments and inter-governmental entities. We also have had informal information exchange meetings with GAC members from the region during recent ICANN meetings and plan to continue to have such gatherings during future meetings.

What is the governance structure of DotAsia?

The governance structure of DotAsia will be constituted based on two types of membership organisations:

1. Sponsor Members (ccTLDs in the region) 2. Co-Sponsor Members (regional organisations)

The governance of DotAsia will be the responsibility of the Board of Directors, which will be advised by an Advisory Council. To ensure that the Board of Directors is relevant and representative of the multicultural Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific region, geographical diversity will be an important criterion for the selection of the Directors. This geographical diversity requirement will be enforced and at least one individual from each of the 4 sub-regions will be represented on the Board. Each member of the Board of Directors will be expected to act on behalf of the organization as a whole and not as a representative of the organisation from which s/he was nominated. An Advisory Council will be created to advise the Board on all policy matters.

In addition to the Board of Directors, a Proceeds Steering Committee (PROSCOM) will be created by the Board to oversee the allocation of surplus proceeds from registry operations. The PROSCOM will solicit, evaluate and recommend (within the committee or through a third party evaluator) grants to relevant social and/or technical initiatives and activities from the surplus proceeds. The Board will ultimately authorise the grants and decide the qualifications for and number of members of the PROSCOM.

In summary, the main activities of DotAsia will be governed by three key groups:

Board of Directors: made up of elected representatives from Sponsor (8) and Co-Sponsor (2) members plus the CEO;

Advisory Council: made up of representatives of Co-Sponsor members; and

Proceeds Steering Committee: created by the Board.

The direct and close involvement of many regional ccTLDs ensures a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the operational and policy management of a TLD registry in the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific region. Furthermore, representation in governance from successful Asia-Pacific Internet and Information Technology groups provides broad representation and relevance from the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific community. Together they create a well-balanced governance structure that forms a solid foundation for a successful TLD registry for Asia.

Who are members of DotAsia Organisation?

There are 2 types of members defined:

1. Sponsor Members

Sponsor Members shall be organisations in the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific region, as defined by ICANN’s Asia / Australia / Pacific Region (based on the ICANN Region definitions) that manage and operate any of the country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) registries in the region.

2. Co-Sponsor Members

Co-Sponsor Members shall be regional-based Internet, Information Technology, Telecommunications, non-profit, NGO or other relevant community organizations in the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific region. Current members of DotAsia come from a diverse geographical basis in the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific community, demonstrating evidence of broad support from the community. For an up-to-date list of members, please refer to the Members and Supporters page.

What are the benefits of being a member of DotAsia?

Rather than viewing the membership as benefit, members of DotAsia contribute to the governance of the .ASIA Sponsored gTLD. Members of DotAsia Organisation participate in the nomination and election of the Board, which will oversee the governance of the .ASIA registry. Co-Sponsor Members will also nominate a representative on to the Advisory Council.

Sponsor Members will contribute by managing direct re-investment activities to fuel socio-technical initiatives in the region. These funds will be allocated directly from proceeds of the .ASIA registry on a per-domain-year basis so that there would be benefits to the community immediately. (See Q12 for more details.)

As ccTLD member of DotAsia, do I share the revenue of DotAsia?

As a core part of the constitution of DotAsia to contribute financially to the community served, a guaranteed portion of the revenue will be directly re-invested into technical and social developmental activities for the Internet community in the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific region. This direct re-investment will be procured through participating ccTLDs (Sponsor Members) on a per-domain-year amount basis. There will be certain restrictions applied to this because DotAsia Organisation is a not-for-profit organisation. The policy for this will be established by Advisory Council in due course.

The Proceeds Steering Committee will manage allocations not directed through the Sponsor Members.

Who are the current members of DotAsia?

Members of DotAsia come from a diverse geographical basis in the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific community, demonstrating evidence of broad support from the community. For an up-to-date list of members please refer to the Members and Supporters page.

Who are in the Board and the Advisory Council?

The board and advisory council are constituted of elected sponsor and co-sponsor members as well as distinguished individuals from the community. Please refer to the Community & Governance page for the list and brief bios.

DotAsia Organisation Ltd, operator of the .Asia regional top-level-domain is pleased to announce that the .Asia extension has received accreditation from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) to once again market in China.

To commemorate its 10th year anniversary, operator of the '.Asia' regional top-level-domain, today released its first annual 'Youth Mobility Index (YMI.Asia)' report. YMI.Asia aims to measure the social, geo-physical and digital mobility of younger generations across Asia to better support young Asian entrepreneurs setting out to change the world.

Recently the .asia top level domain made a number of changes to eligibility, the main one being to enable anyone, anywhere with an interest in Asia to register a .asia domain name. As the Asian region expands, and Asian communities around the world grow and diversify, there are some great opportunities ahead. There are challenges ahead for .asia, as with any top level domain, but their experiences can also be instructive. Recently Leona Chen-Birkner, Vice President of Registrar Relations for DotAsia Organisation, sat down with Domain Pulse to discuss DotAsia's experiences, and what the future looks like.

Ajitora, DotAsia’s cyberspace tiger and appointed Tx2 Ambassodor, is proud to announce a global collaboration with domain registration and ecommerce storefronts to spread the Tx2 vision to #doubletigers in the wild by 2022. Building on the exciting news from WWF that wild tiger population ...

Ajitora Invites Internet Community to Join in the Tx2 Goals by Sharing an UPROAR! Building on Ajitora's appointment as an Ambassador for Tx2 (the goal to #doubletigers in the wild by 2022 jointly supported by GTF, WWF, TRAFFIC and others), DotAsia announces the release of Ajitora images ...